A group of high school students is giving Syrian refugee families a true Canadian welcome by presenting them with packages filled with Canadian essentials.
Grade 12 students Michael Wickware of York Mills Collegiate and Liat Fainman-Adelman of North Toronto Collegiate founded Compass (a company that the students developed through their school’s Junior Achievement program) with hopes to make the transition to Canada a little easier for newly arrived Syrian refugees.
The two have recruited a team of eight other students and have been hard at work getting their initiative off the ground. It has already seen an outpouring of generosity from high-profile companies such as Sun Life Financial and Blackberry.
“We are targeting both individual and corporate sponsors,” said Fainman-Adelman.
Individuals wanting to help can purchase a package for $20, which will be donated directly to an arriving family. Each of the packages include both necessary and patriotic items such as a wool blanket, gloves, Canadian maple candies, stuffed animals and English/Arabic colouring books (with phrases phonetically translated into English). The Compass team purchases the items, fills the packages and has them distributed directly to families.
“We really wanted to focus on the welcoming aspect, especially from a student perspective — that young people are also excited to welcome them here,” said Fainman-Adelman.
According to Wickware, the team hopes to obtain a government grant to bring awareness workshops into Toronto schools to enlighten students about the Syrian crisis.
“As young people, it is our responsibility to voice important issues in our community. We are so fortunate to live here, and I believe that if we have the opportunity to help others less fortunate in our community, then we should,” said Wickware. “We should be setting the example.”
The Compass team has already put together and distributed more than 250 packages, with no sign of slowing down.
“I’m hoping we reach over 500 sales because that would mean over 500 families we have changed the lives of,” said Wickware.
